The Make-at-Home Kits Every Ramen Fan in Philly Needs

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Like every normal human in the world, I like ramen. It’s a great comfort food meal, a fantastic hangover meal, and an all-around bowl of hot, tasty goodness. More importantly, it’s probably my partner’s favorite meal.

I’ve tried to make ramen at home with various recipes on the intranet to no avail. Once you’ve had the good fortune of slurping down ramen at 3 a.m. in Tokyo, nothing made at home satisfies the craving—until now and in Philly.

I haven’t seen a respected epidemiologist anywhere indicate a willingness to participate in indoor dining so that’s not an option. Our hankering for ramen had gone unfulfilled from March until last month. That’s when the talented folks at Neighborhood Ramen started doing outdoor dining and MAKE-AT-HOME KITS! You know, the place that Philadelphia Inquirer food critic Craig LaBan said raised the standard of Philly ramen another notch.

Neighborhood Ramen has put a ton of thought into their Make-at-Home kits and they’re basically foolproof. Trust me. I’ve made them drunk and I couldn’t screw it up. That’s because they include these handly instructions for preparation perfection.

They also give you the option of getting disposable ramen bowls and spoons. They’ve thought of everything. Here’s what the kits look like. There’s a closed kit, an opened kit, and one box with some sides we ordered like a soft boiled marinated egg, spicy paste bombs, oshinko, and sesame salad.

A few minutes later, this is what following the directions gets ya.

Holy shit is it good. It’s almost identical to getting it on location. You dig the wild animal bowl that the oshinko (Spicy sesame soyu and pickled Persian cucumbers) is in, don’t you?

We’ve had cook-at-home kits from other great restaurants in town. They were good, but none came out as on point as these ramen kits do. I can’t recommend them enough.

You can order them online in advance and select a pickup day/time.

They’re perfect for solo dining, as well as a Netflix/Hulu/Prime and chill night with a special someone. I also recommend getting a kit and sticking it in the refrigerator for a late-night jawn if you plan to do a night of outdoor, socially-distanced drinking. It’s easily the best-tasting booze-sponge you’ll find and your body will thank you in the morning.